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Sourav Ganguly was satisfied with both his own form and the form of the Indian team after their seven-wicket win at Visakhapatnam, which helped them seal a 2-1 series win against Sri Lanka.Ganguly, who contributed two half-centuries and a 48 to win the Man-of-the-Series award, said: “We are going into the World Cup in the right frame of mind. We will get similar wickets in the West Indies and it is good that the players are in good form. This is a good outfit.”Talking about his own form, Ganguly, who has scored four fifties in his last six ODI innings, said: “I have been playing well consistently and scoring runs when required. Since the South Africa series I have been getting runs. It has been going well.”Talking about a bout of dizziness which forced him to retire hurt early in the Indian innings, Ganguly attributed it to fatigue and lack of sleep. “I did not sleep last night and I bowled six overs which I had not done in a long while.” Ganguly retired hurt in the first over, and then came back after the fall of the second wicket.Rahul Dravid, who continued his fine run as captain in home ODIs, praised the team’s comeback after being 1-0 down in the series. “Credit to the boys for the way they fought back into the series. In a three-match series (the first match was washed out) against this kind of opposition, it is tough to come back from being one match down. It is a great team effort.”He also had encouraging words for Yuvraj Singh, who made a magnificent unbeaten 95. “It is great that Yuvraj is back in form. It was also great to see Sachin, Sourav and other batsmen get runs in the series. Our bowling upfront was also good. It has been a fantastic effort.”

The BCCI has submitted a written request to the Maharashtra government to create a sports integrity Intelligence Gathering Unit (IGU) that will see the board and the Maharashtra Police come together to tackle corruption in Indian cricket.The IGU, which will operate out of Mumbai, will be the first instance of the BCCI tying up with the security agency of a state to counter corruption, and might empower the ICC to adopt similar measures with Shashank Manohar having recently taken over as its chairman.According to the , Manohar submitted a request to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis following their meeting last week to discuss the issue, which elicited a positive response from Fadnavis. The BCCI was open to part-funding the creation and administration of the IGU, which is expected to be operational within two months. The IGU will work in coordination with the BCCI, and share information it collects on cases pertaining to corruption with security agencies of other states to facilitate preventive steps.Manohar has been a staunch advocate of a system to eradicate spot and match-fixing, and had mentioned it as one of his “commitments” when he took over as BCCI president in October. He has also often bemoaned the lack of investigative powers at the disposal of the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).”The ICC and BCCI are educating the players at every level [about corruption],” Manohar told recently. “There is one difficulty in that the ACSU does not have the investigative powers which are with the police authorities. That’s the reason we have to take the help of the investigative agency to curb this menace.”I have approached the state (Maharashtra) government, not the central government. The Mumbai Police has all the powers. What we want basically is intelligence input from the government. If the investigating agency shares information with the board, that would solve most of our problems.”

Australia’s selectors have cast an eye to the future with their Chairman’s XI for Sri Lanka’s first warm-up match in Adelaide starting on Saturday. The side for the three-day match is made up of those who were not picked for the round of state games and has focussed on youth.Ronchi, the aggressive wicketkeeper-batsman, missed out on Western Australia’s Pura Cup team to face Victoria due to Adam Gilchrist’s return, but he has the chance to shine as captain of the XI. Ronchi’s team-mate Aaron Heal, the left-arm slow bowler, will also play after making way for Brad Hogg while Mick Lewis, the veteran of the group at 33, will be back in Adelaide following a successful domestic trip with Victoria’s one-day side last week.Doug Bollinger has been included after being pushed out by Brett Lee and Stuart Clark at New South Wales, who are hosting Queensland from Friday. He was overlooked by the Blues despite taking eight wickets in the Pura Cup win over Western Australia.South Australia have four representatives in Cullen Bailey, Australia’s back-up legspinner who missed the state’s trip to Hobart, Paul Rofe, Tom Plant and Callum Ferguson. The match was hastily arranged following a request from the Sri Lankan management, which felt one warm-up was not enough ahead of the two-Test series in Brisbane from November 8.Chairman’s XI Lloyd Mash, Greg Moller, Phillip Hughes, Luke Ronchi (capt, wk), Callum Ferguson, Tom Plant, Cullen Bailey, Doug Bollinger, Aaron Heal, Mick Lewis, Paul Rofe.

Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen believes Mitchell Johnson might be the man who can unnerve India’s strong batting line-up if he is picked for the Boxing Day Test. Johnson was impressive in his first two Tests against Sri Lanka last month but the re-emergence of Shaun Tait has left him uncertain of a place for the Melbourne match.However, Johnson has an excellent record against India in one-day internationals with 19 wickets at an average of 16 and he was the leading wicket-taker for either side in the recent ODI series in India. Nielsen said that would work in his favour when the selectors decided on their final 11 for Boxing Day.”He’s had really good success,” Nielsen said. “He’s knocked over their top order consistently over the last couple of years. When the selectors sit down and have a look at the best mix for a team against India I’m sure the fact Mitchell’s knocked over the likes of Tendulkar and Ganguly and Dravid consistently over the last couple of years will be a big tick in his box.”Tait was still recovering from elbow surgery when Australia played Sri Lanka, leaving Johnson as the obvious candidate to back up Brett Lee and Stuart Clark in the pace attack. But Johnson was left out of the ODIs against New Zealand as Australia wanted to give Tait some match time and Tait’s success meant Johnson was suddenly being mentioned as a possible 12th man for Boxing Day.”He’s been so good in the Test match arena especially,” Nielsen said. “The biggest challenge for him is not to think ‘what do I have to change to get back in’ it’s just to understand that 12 doesn’t fit into 11 [for the ODIs].”Australia have not decided whether to experiment with a four-man pace attack in Melbourne as the MCG pitch remains a mystery. Rain has bucketed down in Melbourne over the past few days, meaning the centre-wicket area is still under cover.

Scorecard
New Zealand jumped right back into Rose Bowl contention with a crunching 82-run win against Australia to leave the series level at 1-1. The home side made plenty of 240-plus scores at the Lincoln ground against England without always winning but found 238 was more than enough in the second match to conquer Australia, the current holders.Katey Martin’s good form continued with 45, while Nicola Browne and Amy Satterthwaite both posted 48. Sarah Andrews was Australia’s best bowler with two wickets, while Ellyse Perry, Shelley Nitschke and Lisa Sthalekar both took one.New Zealand’s new-ball pairing of Helen Watson and Sophie Devine then worked well together, taking two wickets each to set Australia on the back foot at 4 for 43. They could not recover, as Lucy Doolan chipped in with 3 for 42.Australia will take some comfort from a half-century from Jodie Purves, who was included as a specialist batsman while Leonie Coleman kept wicket. Her fifth-wicket stand of 82 with Perry made the score more respectable but by the time it was broken Australia needed ten an over from the last ten overs, which proved too much.

Andhra skipper Amit Pathak won the toss and elected to bat in their lastSouth Zone Ranji Trophy match of the season against Hyderabad, at Kurnool.Andhra pounded the Hyderabad attack amassing 285 for three in 90 overs, onthe first day. Openers Amit Pathak (64) and LNP Reddy (37) shared a 102 runpartnership for the first wicket. Pathak played an aggressive inningsblasting eleven boundaries in his 98 ball innings. Former India spinnerVenkatpathy Raju broke their partnership when he removed Pathak. Four runslater, Raju dismissed Reddy with the score board reading 106 for two.With both openers back in the pavilion in quick succession, GN Srinivas (76not out) and Y Venugopal Rao (59) set out to build the innings. They shareda 102 run partnership for the third wicket. GN Srinavas displayed a perfectblend of calculated attack and defence in his unbeaten innings. He hitseven boundaries in his 187 ball innings.Andhra ended the day with GN Srinivas and I Srinivas (34) at the crease.Hyderabad have 22 points and are leading the points table from their fourmatches so far. Andhra are fifth with 14 points.

As he set out for the tour of England last week, holding for the first time the poisoned chalice that the West Indies captaincy has become, Ramnaresh Sarwan itemised his priorities. “Consistency, cohesion and camaraderie” was the alliteration used by Ezra Stuart in his report to summarise Sarwan’s stated priorities for the challenging campaign ahead.It might have stated the obvious since no international team has been as unpredictable as West Indies over the past decade or so and certainly none more divided. But the points had to be accentuated.The new captain could have added fitness and discipline as other areas requiring attention but there is a new, belatedly appointed trainer to start focusing on the former and new manager Mike Findlay has made early reference to the latter.Twice in his chat with the media, Sarwan used the phrases “very important” and “most importantly” to stress the need to “play well as a team and play as a collective unit”. It has been clear for some time, but more than ever during the recent World Cup let-down, that the West Indies were not pulling together, that they were not truly a team.Given Lara’s absence, the proximity of the World Cup debacle and the ludicrous itinerary that offers only this weekend’s match against Somerset as preparation for four Tests in a month, an immediate reversal of the 4-0 whitewash endured in England three years ago is an unrealistic expectation.What can be achieved are more commitment, cohesion and camaraderie, and a more serious approach to fitness and discipline. Even then, the benefits of such change will take time to materialise. Their implementation depends largely on the encouragement and guidance provided by Sarwan and his senior lieutenants – Daren Ganga, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle and Corey Collymore.With 101 Tests and 13 years in international cricket, Chanderpaul is by far the senior statesman now that Lara has gone. But his role is likely to remain what, except for a brief, uncomfortable stint at the helm, it always has been: batting for as long as possible. The leadership is now in the hands of a younger brigade.Ganga, Sarwan’s deputy, has shown his qualities in leading Trinidad and Tobago to two double-titles in the past three seasons. Gayle, like Sarwan, in his eighth year of international cricket, is nearing the veteran stage, while Collymore is an equally seasoned campaigner with as much to contribute in the nets and team meetings as in the middle.Potentially, Gayle can be the most influential of the group, not only as opening batsman and spinner, but as exemplar. When the West Indies were last in Australia in 2005, Steve Waugh was of a similar view.”The current Windies unit lacks urgency and vibrancy and is therefore reactive, not proactive,” the former Australian captain wrote in his newspaper column. “The good news is that it takes just one player to initiate change by hustling between overs and to liven up proceedings with a bit of chat out on the field, especially if it is a senior player.”Waugh singled out “the highly talented Chris Gayle who has the presence and ability to influence those around him”, adding the caveat that Gayle would have to alter his attitude to do so. It is amazing how little has changed in the interim, both in the team and in Gayle himself. But it is not too late.

With his omnipresent sunglasses, glittering gold chain, changing hair-styles and super-cool demeanour, Gayle is widely perceived as the quintessence of the present-day West Indies cricketer – all style, little substance. It is not an entirely unearned impression, but Gayle is a significant all-round cricketer with a solid record. What is more, he is a spark who can lift spirits, off and on the field, a crucial consideration on a tour such as this.The counterbalance is occasionally evident, never more so than in his lacklustre performance in the World Cup, typified by a manifestly indifferent attitude. It would have been hardly surprising had he been dropped because of it, but he was not the only one affected by the malaise that permeated the entire team and was plain to see from well beyond the boundary. The selectors would have been swayed more by Gayle’s role in less discordant times, more recently in the Champions Trophy in India six months ago when he was Player Of The Tournament.For all the frozen footwork, a basic defect for an opener, he remains the most destructive batsman in the team. If his average of 38.71 is a little short of the accepted statistical standard for leading Test batsmen, it is hardly atrocious. And he did average 50 in the 4-0 Test whitewash in England three years ago.Batting is his forte, of course, but his off-spin is not to be undervalued, as he himself believes it has been. “In the bowling department, I think I have been underused on most occasions,” he wrote in his diary on an internet site last December. “I am not a scapegoat bowler in this team to be used only when things are difficult. Things can be handled a bit better in that scenario.”Perhaps Sarwan will take note, especially in this series when Gayle offers the only contrast in an attack, as ever, based on pace and seam. It is noteworthy that one of Gayle’s two five-wicket returns in a Test innings, 5 for 34 against England at Edgbaston three years ago, was on the day when Sarwan was in charge in the absence of an ill Lara. Sarwan was also leading in Lara’s absence when Gayle’s belligerence, highlighted by his shoulder-to-shoulder clash with Michael Clarke, visibly energised West Indies in their first round Champions Trophy win over Australia last October.The problem is that such dynamism has been too spasmodic, inevitably followed by long lapses into inertia. The team requires more of it more regularly.

Ramnaresh Sarwan has made a convincing return to the West Indies side ten months after a shoulder injury forced him out of action. His second-innings century in Trinidad helped West Indies hold off a first-ever series defeat to Sri Lanka at home and won him the Player-of-the-Series award. Satisfied with his performance, Sarwan said the months spent outside the team had given him time to think of what he needed to do.”I’ve been out for 10 months, players tend to mature around 26-27 and then it carries on till they are 33-34 and I hope that is going to be the case for me,” Sarwan said. “I’ve certainly gained a lot of experience and I think I can use that.”West Indies were set to chase 253 by Sri Lanka and they lost only four wickets in knocking off the runs on day four. Sarwan added 157 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul and fell when West Indies needed only 23 more to win. “After we lost Marlon [Samuels] I knew I had to form a good partnership with Shiv [Chanderpaul]. The good thing was that Shiv was flowing and I didn’t have to do all the scoring, he was positive and that paid off for us.”I’ve been getting off to good starts in this series, I wanted to do the same, pick the bad balls and fortunately I was able to do that and go on and get the hundred.” Sarwan scored 311 at 77.75 in the two Tests.Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, was pleased to have Sarwan back in the side. “Missing Sarwan really hurt us and it is good to have him back out there,” Gayle said. “He showed how important he is at No. 3. It is good to have him back, he looked the part and I have to give him credit. I hope he can build on this and capitalise on his good starts and get those hundreds – big hundreds.”

Geoff Boycott has urged the game’s administrators to consider revamping Test cricket to make it more appealing to a modern audience.He said that crowds at recent Tests in Australia, India and South Africa had shown that in most countries the public no longer bought into the traditional five-day format.”I think the national boards of all the countries should take responsibility,” Boycott told Cricinfo. “The pace of life has changed. [Years ago] an India-Pakistan Test would be sold out twice over and you wouldn’t be able to get a seat. But people today have jobs and they don’t want a Test match to last five days.”I would recommend four-day Tests. I would try to increase the over-rate, because people want to pack more into life, and I would play day-night Tests. Kerry Packer tried it in 1977-78 and ’78-79. He had a few Tests that were played at night and they got good crowds. I think it is time the administrators did something about this.”India is one of the places to try it because their board is forward-looking. It can do whatever it wants: it is wealthy and powerful and it can get crowds in at night.”In the second season of World Series Cricket the Supertests were played over four days starting at 2.30pm and continuing until 10.30pm with shortened intervals. The total playing time was 30 hours – the same as in a normal Test – and the matches were played under lights. They were popular and attracted much higher audiences than the traditional daytime games.

Send us your feedback … what do you think?”Samir Inamdar, Cricket Kenya’s chairman, has dismissed suggestions that his board should have acted to suspend the Centrals province much earlier than they did.As revealed by Cricinfo earlier this week, Centrals were suspended after they failed to promote the game, so much so there were doubts if there was any active cricket being played in the area. Their officials had also failed to attend meetings or respond to queries from Cricket Kenya.”We have tried our utmost to sort out affairs in Central,” Inamdar told Cricinfo. “We did make attempts to get cricket in Central kick-started in the interests of promoting the game there. Senior members of the CK board, including myself, had agreed to travel to Thika in November last year in an effort to get as many clubs and schools together and to create a body capable of running the game there. Joshua Kiragu [the Centrals chairman] said, after being pressed to organise this, that it was inconvenient.”This meeting was rescheduled to December and again at the last minute we had to cancel because we did not receive any confirmation that he had convened a meeting.””We did the same thing in Rift and this was highly successful. It can only work this way if there is someone in a province able to mobilise people to come to a meeting to discuss cricket. Not having seen Kiragu at board meetings after that, we had to refer the matter to the executive committee. This was left to after the World Cup since preceding that we had the Mombasa tri-series in January, the World Cricket League in January/February and preparations and departures for the World Cup in March/April.”The executive tackled the matter in its meeting on May 13 and resolved to remove Kiragu from the board for failure to attend board meetings, and to call a Special General Meeting to discuss the matter with the governing council about Central’s position. The executive had recommended the Council to suspend Central from its membership and the Council approved this at its meeting on June 3.”Let me make it clear that this decision to suspend Central was taken aftersome long hard thinking,” Inamdar continued. “It was never our intention to deprive a province of its status if there was anything that could be done to keep it (and cricket) going.”Some critics had accused CK of taking the decision too close to the elections. “The other three provinces were unhappy that Central, having done nothing for the last two years, would be able to have a say in national cricket affairs and perhaps even influence the outcome of any election,” Inamdar explained. “I cannot question this as it is an entirely reasonable stand to take in my view.”This has come about at a time when all provinces are being asked to overhaul their constitutions to ensure that they comply with the CK constitution in the interests of uniformity. Central does not have a constitution nor any capacity to make one now. This is fundamental if it is to select anyone to be a delegate at the AGM. It cannot have a delegate because it has no registered clubs affiliated to it. Faced with this situation I do not know what else we could be expected to do in the run-up to elections.”